Severus "Babysits" His Grandchildren

"Babysitting" wasn't the proper term for what Severus was doing right now; "chaperoning" or "observing" might've served better. Marley and Miles were on a short vacation for their anniversary, leaving Matthew, Philip, and Mary (and Nana) in Severus's and Lily's care... or at least, that was the case in the evening. During the day, on the weekends, the children (and Nana) visited Thomas and Sharon at Number 2 Widow's Lane, spending most of the day there to keep Thomas company after another health scare from overworking at Cokey's & Railview (Miles had outright forbidden Thomas from working on the weekends after that).

Nicholas and Jerome, hearing about the arrangement, had decided to move to Snape Glen and share Number 6 Widow's Lane, right next to Rose and Hugo of Number 4, mainly to help support the business and take unneeded stress off their older brother. With the seven Glenns all reportedly back together at Snape Glen, Samuel and Molly Joanne decided to follow their cousins' pattern and move into Number 8, upon which the Glenns started receiving more regular visits from Harry, Ginevra (much to Miles's unsubtle dismay), and Arthur, as well as from Draco and Scorpius.

And, given the departure of Marley and Miles on their anniversary, this meant that there was time for the Glenns, Pettigrews, Granger-Weasleys, Snapes, and Malfoys to come together in Thomas's house for some fun and games. Lily had thought it would be good for Severus to join them as a babysitter, or chaperone, or observer, for some reason that Severus couldn't fathom, at least not until he arrived.

"I told Gran I wanted you with us," Little Mary explained as she led Severus to the armchair beside the couch, moving past the thirteen other people present.

"Do we have enough seats?" Peter asked.

"We could move some of the chairs over," Sharon suggested as she grabbed one from the table.

"What are we doing today?" Severus asked.

"Tom wanted to play Shadow of the Colossus," Jerome explained. "So naturally, we invited ourselves over."

"That's very rude of you," Severus said sternly.

"... sorry," Nicholas said sheepishly.

"It's fine," Thomas said as he set down a few empty bowls on the table in front of the now-crowded couch.

"How do we even do this?" Peter asked.

"We could make a list and see who fights what."

"One second," Sharon said as she went to the staircase. "There's one more chair upstairs."

Mary sat down on Severus's lap, while Nana sat beside her. "Tommy says it's his favorite game!"

"Right," Peter said, holding up his iFloo and stylus. "I'll list off all the colossi and see who gets to fight what."

"The twins," Nicholas and Jerome said together.

"Thank God for that," Thomas said as he sat down in front of the TV with a sigh.

"Celosia... and Cenobia," Peter muttered as he wrote it down.

"What if we've never played before?" Philip asked.

"Tommy can play the first part," Sharon answered as she brought down another chair for herself.

"I'd rather fight Kuromori," Thomas said.

"... Kuromori?" Peter asked.

"What?"

"You have fourteen options, and you chose Kuromori?"

"I like him!"

"More than Avion and Phalanx?"

"Can we not fight about this until we get there?!"

Peter shrugged. "Fine. Kuromori..."

"Since it's Tommy's game," Molly Joanne asked, "shouldn't he fight two colossi?"

"... fair point. Tom?"

"Yeah, that's fine. I'll do Valus."

"... Tom, are you alright?"

"I'd rather give Phalanx to Mary."

"What's that?" Mary asked.

"A big, flying one," Hugo answered.

Mary squealed and shook her fists in excitement.

"Careful of my hip, dear," Severus chided, settling her down.

"So that's five," Peter said, keeping track. "Eleven to go."

"Can I have Hydrus?" Sharon asked.

Peter made a note. "Alright, that sorts that part out... surprised you didn't choose Pelagia."

"I thought Enid might want that one."

"Absolutely right," Enid said.

"Alright, I should probably list what's left," Peter said, turning to everyone else. "We've got a four-legged one, a bird one, a bearded one, a big horse, a laser turtle, a sand snake, a big cleaver one, and a tower one."

"You left out Gaius," Thomas said as he loaded up his PlayStation.

"Damn it, Tom!"

"Language," Severus reminded Peter.

"Sorry."

"What's Gaius?" Philip asked.

"A big sword one," Thomas answered. "It's Peter's favorite."

"He can have Gaius if I get Dirge," Hugo bartered.

"Done," Peter agreed.

"Can I have the turtle?" Matthew asked.

Severus didn't know how many of them had played this game before, at least not until a number of heads turned to look at Matthew as though he was mental.

"... are you sure?" Jerome asked.

"What's wrong?" Matthew asked back.

"Basaran sucks," Hugo explained.

"Look," Samuel said, "if you'd rather spare Matthew from playing that-"

"Nope," Hugo interrupted.

Peter took a sharp inhale as he marked down Matthew for whatever "Basaran" was. "Molly, I'm guessing you want Avion?"

"Yes, please."

"And... alright, four left."

"I'll take Argus," Samuel said.

"Which leaves," Peter read, "the four-legged one, horse, the beard, and the tower."

"I want the beard!" Mary said excitedly.

"You've got one," Sharon reminded her.

"Please?" Mary asked.

"Let's see what we end up with," Thomas said, patting her on the leg.

"... okay." Mary tucked into Severus's chest.

"I think Scorpius should have Malus," Samuel suggested.

"Is that good?" Scorpius asked.

"That's the tower one," Molly explained. "Really fun."

Scorpius nodded and let Peter mark it down.

"So... four-legged one, horse, and beard," Peter read off.

"What about Granddad?" Philip asked.

"Mary can have my turn," Severus answered, which caused Mary to pop out from the ball she'd made against him.

"YAY!"

"So, Mary gets Barba then," Peter nodded. "Alright. Rose, Phil, you two decide between the four-legged one and the horse."

"You can have the horse one," Philip offered.

"Are you sure?" Rose asked.

"Yeah, you like horses."

"Thank you," Rose said, giving the younger boy a small hug.

"Alright, Phil, that means you're going right after Tom." Peter sat down on one of the chairs Sharon had brought in. "Are we all ready?"

"One second." Thomas turned to the kitchen and waved his hand, causing a number of snacks on the kitchen counter to float over and set themselves down on the living room table. "Alright, let's start. And we're not skipping the cutscenes."

Colossus I | Valus

"And then, you'll want to hold on to this button while you're climbing," Thomas explained to Mary and Philip, who had decided to crouch next to his chair while showing everyone how to climb up a moss-covered wall.

"So," Scorpius asked Samuel and Rose, "you've played this game before?"

"Only I have," Samuel explained. "Sort of. I helped Tom shoot the lizards."

"He... I'm sorry, what?" Rose asked.

"There's some white-tailed lizards that increase your stamina."

"Do lizard tails do that in real life?" Peter asked.

"Some Chinese potions utilize lizard tails for one's vitality," Severus explained.

"I think this game is Japanese, though," Rose said.

"My mistake. Japanese potioneers have a few similar recipes."

Everyone fell silent as the first colossus, a massive, minotaur-like creature, stepped into view.

"... we're fighting that?" Mary whispered.

"It's not as hard as it looks," Thomas explained.

Severus and everyone else watched as Thomas maneuvered behind the colossus and stabbed it in the heel, causing it to fall on one knee and give him access to the platforms conveniently built into the monster.

"Who put that there?" Hugo asked.

"What, the platforms?" Samuel asked back.

"I think it's part of his body," Molly Joanne answered.

"What, they're made of architecture?"

Thomas leaned forward in his chair as the beast nearly shook him off its head, before settling and stabbing into the glowing sigil for the first time. In a few stabs, he then moved to the back of the beast's right arm, dealing more stabs to the glowing sigil there until, finally, it came down thunderously.

"Alright, that's one down," Thomas said, moving to the side and letting Philip sit down. "Don't skip the cutscene." He then moved to sit next to Sharon.

Colossus II | Quadratus

"Follow the light," Samuel said to Philip as the latter rode atop Agro.

"This one's not too hard to find," Thomas added. "Some of them can be a pain when you're not familiar with the pathways."

Philip made his way across a bridge beside the temple and down a path leading to the beach below, the light pointing toward a shallow cave with a shadow over it. As Philip got closer, a wall within the cave broke open, and a large quadruped lumbered out.

"How long do you think it spent behind that?" Jerome asked.

"No one really gives a proper timeline for this game," Hugo answered. "A lot of people think it's actually a prequel to- PHIL, GO!"

Severus watched as Philip narrowly dodged the behemoth from stepping on him.

"There's lights under his feet," Scorpius said, pointing at the screen. "Can you stab those?"

"No, shoot them!" Mary exclaimed, bouncing on Severus's lap.

Philip shot and missed several times, until finally, one arrow found its way into the hindfoot, causing the creature to lower itself.

"CLIMB!" everyone quickly said, cheering Philip on as he clambered up the backside of the creature and onto its exposed dermal plating.

"Stab its bum!" Jerome added.

Philip stabbed the glowing sigil on its posterior until it disappeared, then being guided by Peter and Thomas to go to its left side for another sigil, before finally killing it by stabbing the top of its head. The behemoth collapsed, much like the first before it. Like before, black tendrils shot out from the colossus and entered the character they were all playing.

"Are you ever gonna tell us what that is?!" Mary asked.

"Patience," Sharon said.

Colossus III | Gaius

Everyone was silent as Peter leapt onto the pillarous sword of what Severus could only describe as a giant, stone knight and launched himself up onto its head as the sword was flicked upward.

"WHOA!" Samuel nearly stood up. "How'd you do that?!"

"I taught him," Nicholas answered.

"Yeah," Peter said, stabbing the top of the colossus's head before moving to the left arm. "Nick's the best at parkour, so I asked him for some tips so I could beat the time trials." He stabbed the sigil on the left arm before moving on to the midsection, where, after a number of stabs, the colossus fell dead.

"I've been meaning to ask," Matthew said. "How do we get back to the temple? Is Dormin doing it?"

"Probably," Philip said as he ate a crisp.

Colossus IV | Phaedra

"... I can't kill that," Rose said sadly as the fourth, almost-equine colossus stood up.

"Why not?" Peter asked.

"He was just sitting there, and we've got Agro as well..."

"It's made of stone and dirt," Scorpius said, rubbing her back. "I don't think it's really alive."

Rose huffed and started wandering around atop Agro. "What now?"

"You have to lure it to those hobbit holes," Sharon said, pointing to the screen.

Rose galloped to what Severus assumed was what Sharon meant and dove right in, allowing the colossus to follow and stop right outside.

"Now, you can either climb up those braids on its face," Hugo said, "or you can climb up the bum."

Rose opted to climb the braid, up the colossus's face, before losing her balance and falling back down.

"It's alright, just bait it again," Scorpius said encouragingly.

After trial and error, Rose finally reached the sigils and stabbed all three, enough to bring the giant horse down. "This is awful, isn't it?" she asked.

"The game?"

"They didn't do anything to us."

"Look, it's just a horse, and we've got to bring our girlfriend back to life... wait, is she our girlfriend?"

"I don't think the game ever says," Thomas answered.

"It doesn't," Molly confirmed. "All we know is our character wants to bring her back to life."

"This seems... unethical," Severus commented. Not that he was one to talk.

"I mean, it's probably some horrible demonic ritual," Scorpius said.

Severus noticed Thomas sharing a look with Sharon before the two turned their attention back to the game.

Colossus V | Avion

"... alright, this is the best one," Scorpius said as Molly held onto the flying, bird-like colossus.

"It's one of the most popular ones," Peter agreed. "This one, Phalanx, and Malus. Which is why I'm still wondering why Tom chose Kuromori-"

"Are you still on that?" Thomas asked.

"You had the first pick, and then you had another pick, and you chose Kuromori and bloody Valus, of all sixteen!"

"Why do you hate Kuromori so much?!"

"What's wrong with Kuromori and Valus?" Philip asked.

"They're fine," Peter explained, "but when you compare them to the ones I named, they're definitely not better."

"Look," Thomas said, "I like Avion and Phalanx, and I think they're great, but Kuromori's my favorite!"

"... you left out Malus."

"For the love of God, Peter!"

Colossus VI | Barba

"I'm scared," Mary whimpered as she curled up in Thomas's lap.

"It's alright," Thomas said quietly, "there's light down there."

"... okay." Mary sniffled and took the controller from Thomas.

Not long after, a massive stone door opened, and another minotaur, this time one with a bushy beard, stepped forward.

Mary started giggling. "It's got a bushy beard like you and Daddy!" she said, tugging on Thomas's beard.

"Show it what for!" Jerome cheered her on.

Severus held back a laugh as the entire room animated, encouraging Mary to dodge and run, Mary squealing in excitement as she narrowly avoided death, Nana howling along and growling at the screen. Everyone erupted in cheer as Mary took the colossus down, Mary most of all.

"Natural killer, you are," Nicholas laughed as Mary threw herself at the couch, knocking into him and Jerome.

Colossus VII | Hydrus

"... I hate that," Scorpius muttered as the giant electric eel appeared on-screen.

"I love Hydrus," Sharon shot back.

"Love the design," Thomas said, "but there is absolutely no way I'm fighting that thing in the water."

"You've killed it before," Peter argued.

"I meant in real life, I'm never fighting in the water."

"As opposed to the other ones?"

Thomas went silent as he shifted in his seat between Sharon and Severus. "Well..."

"You can't tell me you'd fight any of those!"

"Alright, if I absolutely had to fight these in real life, I'd rather not be in the water."

"I... Uncle Sev, do things like colossi exist?"

"I don't doubt the idea that a group of sorcerers could conjure and animate a number of large automatons," Severus answered. "Whether or not it would be like this, I'm not sure."

"I thought you could do everything," Mary said in surprise.

"Not quite, dear," Severus said with a small smirk.

Sharon hissed as she was electrocuted by the eel.

"See, that's one reason I'd hate being there," Thomas pointed out.

Colossus VIII | Kuromori

"Alright," Peter said as the fight with the eighth colossus began, "now explain why you like Kuromori so much."

"You're still- fine!" Thomas maneuvered out of the way of an energy blast that erupted from the colossus's mouth, which startled the newcomers in the room. "Well, to start, he's the first one with projectile attacks, and the only one that can climb up walls."

"He can WHAT?!" Mary shrieked, and she soon hid beneath Severus's outer cloak as they watched the giant lizard start climbing.

"I also just like that it's like a small dragon."

"I think that's a standard size, actually," Rose said. "Hugo and I saw some when we visited Uncle Charlie and Aunt Dora."

"How are they?" Sharon asked.

"They've been doing well."

"Alright, watch this." Thomas shot two of the lizard's limbs, causing it to fall down to the bottom of the arena with a tremor before leaping off the ledge, charging up a stab, and hitting the sigil head-on.

"You've learned!" Jerome cheered.

"Silence, please." Thomas quickly stabbed the sigil before it disappeared, and he then moved to the second one and quickly stabbed before it died.

"... and this is your favorite because...?" Peter trailed off.

"I swear to God, Peter-"

Colossus IX | Basaran

"... Matthew, we're so sorry," Hugo said, patting Matthew on the back as the giant turtle emerged from the cave.

"What for?"

"We all hate this one," Thomas explained.

"Why- AH!" Matthew dodged out of the way of a ball of energy that shot from the colossus's mouth.

"And this is the second colossus that shoots projectiles," Molly said.

"We hate it," Thomas repeated.

"Do I shoot under its feet?" Matthew asked.

"Nope. You have to get a geyser to knock it over."

"So, I lead it away from the cave; that's not bad."

Severus watched as Matthew, trying to lure the colossus away from the cave, was shot at repeatedly from a distance.

"... I hate this one," Matthew said, echoing his older brother.

Colossus X | Dirge

"RUN!" Philip yelled.

"I'M RUNNING!" Hugo yelled back.

Rose and Mary shrieked as two massive, soul-sucking eyes emerged from the sand from the shape that was chasing after the horseman on-screen.

"DON'T LET IT GET YOU!" Mary screamed, hiding once more within Severus's outer cloak.

Hugo shot the colossus in one of its eyes, causing it to crash into the cave wall.

"KILL IT!" Everyone but Severus cheered.

Colossus XI | Celosia

"It's so small!" Rose said in surprise as the boar-like colossus appeared and started attacking Jerome.

"I thought colossi were all big?" Scorpius asked.

"I mean, they're bigger than Wander," Samuel explained.

"Who?"

"Wander. The main character."

"He has a name?"

"They don't say it out loud, but officially, that's his name."

"Wanna see something cool?" Jerome asked as he forced the colossus to the ledge with his torch. The colossus fell, breaking the stone plate on its back and revealing its weakspot. Jerome immediately leapt off, falling directly onto the colossus's back and stabbing in. After a few stabs, the colossus was dead.

"... that was quick," Scorpius said.

"Not my fault I'm so good," Jerome said haughtily.

"It actually is," Matthew argued as the shadows took the character once more.

Colossus XII | Pelagia

"I never really liked this one either," Thomas said as Enid guided what appeared to be a half-headed quadruped of some sort by striking its exposed teeth.

"You really hate water, don't you?" Sharon said teasingly, nudging her brother.

"It's not the water as much as it is the colossi in the water. I'm fine with Avion because the water's a safety net, but here, the water's the colossus's territory."

"Yeah, I think I have to agree," Hugo said.

"I still like Pelagia for the ranged attacks," Peter added. "I'm still wondering if it actually had a top-half to its head that fell off."

"I'd almost ask how it didn't die from losing it," Scorpius said, "but these things aren't natural to begin with."

"A bit cruel, isn't it?" Jerome asked. "I mean, look at the poor bloke's dental, and you're just knocking into what's left of it."

"... they can't feel pain, right?" Rose asked.

Everyone went silent and Severus took a sip of water.

Colossus XIII | Phalanx

"... I hate you so much," Scorpius said to Samuel as they watched Mary run along the back of the massive, flying serpent.

"What did I do?!"

"You couldn't bother to tell me about this one before you picked?"

"Look, Phalanx is great, but I promise, Malus is the best one!"

"Which one is that?" Rose asked.

"The final one."

"And he's the best?" Scorpius asked.

"Anyone but Thomas would say yes," Peter answered.

"Oh, here we go again," Thomas growled. "If you love Malus and Phalanx so much, why didn't you pick one of them?"

Peter didn't answer.

"Point proven."

Both were pulled away from their argument as Mary dealt the killing blow, the majestic colossus falling limply from the sky and onto the vast desert below.

"... that was sad," Mary said quietly. "She wasn't even doing anything wrong..."

"Just a game," Thomas said back as Mary slowly got off the chair and crawled back onto Thomas's lap. He gave her a hug.

"I've questioned whether or not it's worth it," Nicholas said.

"What, the killing?" Samuel asked.

"Yeah. I mean, we're running around, killing these massive creatures, sixteen of them, to bring one bird back."

Sharon smacked the back of Nicholas's head.

"Sorry, sis."

Colossus XIV | Cenobia

"So, this one's just a bunch of climbing?" Rose asked.

"I think this fight's one of the most climbing-intensive," Molly Joanne answered.

"I mean, we've still got two more," Samuel said. "Malus is the worst."

"You said he was the best!" Scorpius objected.

"No, I mean his fight has the most climbing overall."

"Argus might have the second-most, right?" Thomas asked Nicholas.

"No, Cenobia has more."

"Really?"

"Yeah, you're letting the ruins affect your perception of the level."

"... oh wait, you're right," Thomas nodded. He blinked a few times before taking a shallow breath.

"Are you alright?" Sharon asked softly.

"Fine," Thomas nodded, shutting his eyes.

"I'll get something." Sharon stood and quickly went to the kitchen, returning with a small pill and a glass of water.

"Another headache?" Severus asked.

Thomas hummed in confirmation as he took the pill and washed it down. "I'll be fine."

Colossus XV | Argus

"Are we seeing those men from the cutscene soon?" Philip asked as Samuel climbed onto the colossus's head and started stabbing.

"Near the end," Peter said, taking the last of the crisps. "You'll see them after Scorpius kills the final one."

Severus glanced over at Thomas once more, who was now sitting on the ground with Nana, scratching her behind the head while keeping his eyes relatively shut. Severus tapped the rim of the empty glass and conjured more water. "Thomas, drink."

Thomas opened his eyes briefly and took a few sips. "Thanks, Granddad."

Colossus XVI | Malus

"AGRO!" Mary screamed as Agro bucked Wander off her back, launching him forward to safety as the stone bridge beneath her collapsed.

Rose gasped as they all watched the horse whinny fall into the abyss below, the sound of water splashing as stone and beast hit.

Everyone remained silent before a small wailing sounded from Mary, the girl once more curling in on herself and tucking herself away into Thomas's chest. Thomas hushed her, hugging her and patting her back. Nana came up to nuzzle her nose against the two of them.

"Oh, my God," Rose whimpered, her voice breaking.

"She's okay," Scorpius said, "right? She's not dead."

"She's not dead," Rose repeated, wiping her eyes.

"You need a tissue?" Hugo asked.

"I'm fine," Rose lied.

Scorpius took a deep breath and continued playing. "This last one's for the horse." He guided the character up the platforms until arriving at the top, upon which the room was introduced to the living tower at the very edge of the map, its arms glowing with energy; Severus assumed it was a ranged attack.

"... Sharon," Scorpius asked, "that thing can't hit us from here, right?"

Sharon didn't answer.

"... bugger."

End Credits

Sharon, Molly, Rose, Enid, and Mary were quietly crying as the girl Wander was trying to resurrect stirred and returned to life, stepping down from the stone ritual table, taking a few steps before a horse's whinny drew her attention, upon which everyone but Severus and Thomas (who had an icepack on his head) cheered. The credits soon rolled, showing what had once been the colossi, all of which were now reduced to rubble. After the final colossus disappeared from the screen, Severus watched as the lame horse led the girl and the horned baby that had once been Wander up to a secret garden at the top of the temple, with a few creatures approaching them before one of the birds took flight, the camera following it.

"And that," Peter said, letting out a sigh as he leaned back on the chair, "was Shadow of the Colossus."

"I hate that it's over." Rose dried her eyes as she offered a tissue to Enid and Molly.

"I-I love it," Mary hiccupped, blowing her nose in the tissue Thomas was holding for her.

Severus checked the time on his pocket watch as a shadow appeared behind the glass of the backdoor. He stood before the knock came and opened.

"Hi, Sev," Lily said, peeking in. "Is everything alright?"

"We just finished," Sharon explained, sniffling.

"Oh, what's wrong?" Lily asked as Mary ran to her and wrapped herself around her grandmother's legs.

"The game's story-" Severus stopped himself. "I'll explain later. Let's get the children to bed first."

Aftermath

Now in bed after putting Philip, Matthew, and Mary to bed, Severus summarized the storyline of the game he'd watched; unsurprisingly, Lily's heart broke.